In the United States, a country in which menstrual products are relatively accessible, the topic of periods is still taboo. They still get called the vague and useless term “feminine hygiene products.” Women in prison often can’t afford pads or tampons. Even outside of prison, the they're exorbitantly priced.
Imagine, then, how difficult it is to navigate having a period in India, where only 12 percent of menstruating women in the country use pads, and instead often use old rags. It’s common for girls to drop out of school once they get their period, and they are often barred from entering certain temples. It’s lucky if men even know what a period is. Period. End of Sentence., is an Oscar-nominated documentary short that follows the installation of a pad-making machine in Hapur, a rural village outside New Delhi, India. The women who work to make the pads learn about menstrual health and hygiene. They also gain job skills and learn how to create, market, and sell the product.
The idea for the film came from students at a California high school who created The Pad Project, a non-profit that helps raise awareness around the issue. The documentary’s title comes from their slogan, “A period should end a sentence, not a girl's education.”
